Pinewood Social at Rolling Mill Hill will bring casual dining, socializing to old trolley barn

Owners want to create social gathering space

Wntten by Getahn Ward The Tennessean

May 29. 2013

Benjamin and Max Goldberg, the owners of several Nashville dining hotspots, are planning a new concept for Nashville's Rolling Mill Hill in one of the city's historic trolley barns.

Based on concepts from Ray Oldenburg's book "The Great Good Place," Pinewood Social will be designed as a social gathering space, providing an alternative to the local coffee shop or neighborhood restaurant, according to the project developers.

Strategic Hospitality LLC’s leasing of 13,000 square feet in the final building at Trolley Barns at Rolling Mill Hill gives the redevelopment project a much-needed retail component.

"It completes the project not only from an occupancy perspective, but also from a use perspective," said Bert Mathews, chief manager with Trolley Barns Partners, an entity controlled by The Mathews family that developed the Trolley Barns at Rolling Mill Hill. "I've got a lot of faith in Max and Benjamin. They've been very successful entrepreneurs, and I think this fits right in with all the rest of the tenants at the Trolley Barns."

Tenants in the five other buildings include email marketing firm Emma, accounting firm Baker Sullivan Hoover PLC, Centric Architecture, the Center for Nonprofit Management, Hands on Nashville and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.

"We've always said we like to develop projects that we would be the first ones to support. and that often our projects reflect where we are in our life," said Max Goldberg of Strategic Hospitality LLC. "We gained inspiration from places like the Ace hotel and Public hotel lobbies to develop this social gathering place that can foster so many different opportunities, depending on what you're looking for."

Pinewood Social will have six wood bowling lanes reclaimed from an old bowling alley in Indiana. It also will feature private karaoke rooms, shuffleboard and televisions. The indoor space will flow outside to an outdoor patio, complete with a four-foot-deep swimming pool that will serve as the centerpiece to casual dining and socializing, according to a release.

Pinewood Social will offer breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night options modeled after traditional American diner food. Chef Josh Habiger of The Catbird Seat - another Strategic Hospitality property - will design the menu. Cocktails, similar to those served at the duo's Patterson House, will be featured, along with a large selection of whiskeys, ryes, bourbons and beer.

"The food and beverage program at Pinewood Social will reflect the comfortable communal aspect of the project, while still incorporating creative and forward-thinking options," said Benjamin Goldberg. "We want to be the place where your afternoon coffee turns into after work cocktails or an amazing dinner."

Pinewood Social will be at 33 Peabody St. and is expected to open in early fall.

The brothers' Strategic Hospitality was started in late 2006 and has launched a series of successful restaurant ventures, including The Catbird Seat and The Patterson House.